Category: Recipes

3/29/2021 120 Comments

Smoked Leg of Lamb

To check availability of Uptown Farms lamb or beef, visit here.

It's time to stop being intimidated by lamb! Lamb is fantastic meat to wow a crowd and much easier to prepare than most people think. Here are a few quick tips for buying and cooking lamb:

Look for American lamb. This is not a safety issue so don't panic if you've already purchased imported. Imported lamb, almost always coming from Australia or New Zealand, actually makes up about 1/3 of the lamb consumed in the U.S., and is completely safe. But it is finished differently and will have more of a "flavor shock" to US consumers versus American lamb. American lamb will be fresher and more tender, which makes sense if you think about the distance imported lamb has to travel to get here. Lamb purchased in stores, at a farmer's market, or directly from a farm family like ours will be safe and nutritious - no guilt allowed there!
Cook lamb above the drippings. Unlike beef, which can simmer in its own drippings all day for great added flavor, most people prefer the flavor of lamb that has been cooked away from it's own juices. That's why we love to grill lamb or smoke it (right on the grate). If we do roast lamb we use a pan with a raised rack so the meat sits above the juices.
Don't be afraid of your favorite beef marinades and seasonings! People often try to make seasoning lamb harder than it has to be. We fall back on garlic, rosemary, onion and mustard but there are dozens of good beef rubs that highlight lamb well. For simple cuts like burgers, chops and steaks a simple dusting of salt and pepper goes a long way.

Lamb Leg Marinade:

1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup red wine or apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon of Garlic Powder
1 Teaspoon of salt
2 Teaspoons of sugar
1 Teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Lamb Leg Dry Rub

Mustard - regular or Dijon to be used under the dry rub *optional
1 Tablespoon onion powder
2 Teaspoons dried rosemary
2 Teaspoons dried marjoram
1 Teaspoon garlic powder
1 Teaspoon black pepper

Smoked Leg of Lamb
Directions:

Marinade the lamb 4-6 hours. You can untie or unwrap boneless legs or leave them tied.
Pat exterior dry and using Dijon or regular mustard, cover the lamb with a coating of mustard if you'd like. This helps the rub stick and adds some flavor but isn't necessary.
Apply the lamb dry rub to lamb.
Set smoker at 275 degrees and smoke until lamb reaches an internal temperature of 135 - 140 degrees. Allow the lamb to rest for 20 minutes and it will rise to 145 degrees, medium-rare. Avoid overcooking lamb. We prefer apple or cherry wood chips but a lot of people like mesquite with lamb as well.
You can also grill or roast the leg with a set temp of 325 degrees. Doneness will be determined when lamb reaches 135 - 140 degrees.

Dry rub for lamb. This is great on legs, shoulder roasts and shoulder steaks.

This leg is ready for the smoker. It has been rubbed in the dry rub without mustard this time.

120 Comments

9/28/2020 28 Comments

Pumpkin Crisp

It’s fall! Around here that means harvest and our harvest isn’t just corn and soybeans, but pumpkins as well.

Below is one of our very favorite pumpkin recipes. Two things to note regarding this recipe - the extra work of using fresh pumpkin purée is 100% worth it and although this is a great dish for your cast iron skillet, it can also be prepared in a cake pan.

Enjoy!

Fresh Pumpkin Crisp

Fresh pumpkin purée recipe can be found here.

Fresh Pumpkin Filling:
2 cups fresh pumpkin purée (You can substitute one 15 oz. can of pumpkin purée)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup milk or heavy cream

Crisp Topping
2 cups flour
1.5 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray and flour a cast iron skillet or cake pan.
2. Whisk together all filing ingredients except the milk. Slowly add milk, whisking as you pour. The mixture will be very runny. Pour this into your prepared baking dish.
3. In a clean bowl, mix together dry topping ingredients until well mixed. Add butter and mix with fork until crumbly. Topping will be dry but crumbly. Evenly spread this on top of the filling in baking dish.
4. Bake for 45 minutes. Crisp is done when firm set.

Best served warm, with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

28 Comments

9/28/2020 40 Comments

Pumpkin purée

Making fresh pumpkin purée is easy and delicious. It can be frozen for long term storage as well.

Different pumpkins will have different tastes, color and texture, so if you feel adventurous, try a few different types. The seed flavor and texture can vary as well, making for a fun and unique snack if you like roasted pumpkin seeds.

The classic pie pumpkins are smaller, orange pumpkins as pictured above. If you are buying from the farm, ask the growers what their favorites are!

Fresh Pumpkin Purée

What you need:

Pumpkins
Sharp Knife
Spoon
Baking Sheet

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees.
2. Remove pumpkin stem and slice in half.
3. Clean the middle of pumpkins out. Set aside seeds for roasting if you’d like.
4. Lay pumpkins meat side down on pan.
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender.
6. Clean skin off pumpkins.
7. Use a food processor or blender to purée pumpkin.
8. If pumpkin is too try, add water 1 tablespoon at a time. If pumpkin is too wet, drain excess water.

40 Comments

Speaking Events

Available Puppies

Uptown Girl

Kate Lambert grew up in northern Illinois, not on a farm but active in FFA and showing livestock.

She married the man of her dreams, who happened to be a farmer in Missouri. She gets through the tough times and celebrates the good times by writing.

Kate works for a cooperative agriculture lender in Missouri, being active in the industry as an ag professional.

She participates in the management of the family farm, where they raise corn, soybeans, cattle and sheep. She loves running and spending time with her two boys, who are ALL boy. Her and her husband Matt enjoy all things food and bourbon.

She is passionate about agriculture and finding ways to connect the story of modern farming to Americans who know very little about it.

YOUR CART

Uptown Girl

Smoked Leg of Lamb

Pumpkin Crisp

Fresh Pumpkin Crisp

Pumpkin purée

Fresh Pumpkin Purée

Uptown Girl

Archives

Categories

Stock

The Farm

Support

YOUR CART

﻿Uptown Girl

Smoked Leg of Lamb

Pumpkin Crisp

Fresh Pumpkin Crisp

Pumpkin purée

Fresh Pumpkin Purée

Uptown Girl

Archives

Categories

Stock

The Farm

Support

Uptown Girl